A team of scientists is proposing a bold alternative theory to the Big Bang theory, arguing that our universe may have formed inside a massive black hole located in a larger, “parent” universe. The Big Bang theory, along with Einstein’s general theory of relativity, has successfully explained important cosmological phenomena, such as the cosmic microwave background radiation, the large-scale structure of the universe, and its accelerating expansion, often attributed to dark energy.
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However, fundamental problems with this theory remain, such as the unexplained nature of dark energy and dark matter, the uniqueness of the Big Bang, and the incompatibilities between general relativity and quantum mechanics.
It is believed that the universe began as an extremely hot and dense point, known as a singularity, which underwent rapid expansion within fractions of a second after the Big Bang.
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The new study examines the idea that the universe may not have started from a singularity, but rather emerged from the collapse of a vast cloud of matter in another universe. To explore this hypothesis, the researchers ran simulations looking for a solution that could address some of the inconsistencies in current cosmological theories — and unexpectedly found that an accurate, analytical solution that describes the basic principles of this process already exists.
Although "bounce scenarios" have been proposed in the past, this model stands out because it relies solely on the known laws of physics. It does not introduce hypothetical particles or forces and describes a purely gravitational collapse that occurs inside a black hole. One assumption not included in the current study is that gravity interacts directly with the Higgs field — a subatomic quantum field responsible for the mass of particles, as has been confirmed by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
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In very high-density, high-energy environments, quantum effects become significant, says Sravan Kumar, a visiting researcher at the University of Portsmouth and one of the study’s authors. If gravity interacts with the Higgs field under these conditions, that interaction could alter gravity’s behavior. For example, if the interaction between gravity and the Higgs field becomes repulsive at extremely high energy densities, it could halt gravitational collapse. Instead of ending up at a singularity, the universe could “bounce back” — going from contraction to expansion.
Source: space.com
